§ 1-13 Competitive Sealed Proposals.
(a) General.
(1) Proposals may be solicited through Requests for Proposals ("RFP's") only if the agency makes a written determination that competitive sealed bidding is not practicable or not advantageous to the City for one of the following reasons:
(i) Specifications cannot be made sufficiently definite and certain to permit selection based on revenue to the City alone; or
(ii) Judgment is required in evaluating competing proposals, and it is in the best interest of the City to require a balancing of revenue to the City, quality and other factors. Such determination must be approved in writing by the agency head and must be included in the concession file. A copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Committee.
(2) At least 40 days prior to soliciting proposals, or less, at the discretion of CCPO, the agency shall make a written determination as to whether a concession is a major concession. Such determination shall be approved in writing by the agency head and shall be included in the concession file. If a concession is determined to be a major concession, it shall be subject to review and approval pursuant to Sections 197-c and 197-d of the Charter following the agency selection of the successful proposer. Once a determination of whether a concession is a major concession has been made, an agency may proceed with the request for proposal process but shall provide written notification of its determination to each affected community board and Borough President and shall simultaneously post such notification on the City's website in a location that is accessible by the public with its distribution. A copy of such notification shall be provided to the members of the Committee within 5 days of notification of the community board(s) and Borough President and publication on the City's website, provided however, that inclusion of the concession in the agency's Plan pursuant to 12 RCNY § 1-10 shall constitute notice to the affected community board and Borough President and posting on the City's website for purposes of this requirement, and no copy need be provided to the members of the Committee in such circumstance. The written notification shall include a summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed solicitation, and whether or not the concession is significant.
(i) If an agency provides the aforementioned notice to the affected community board and Borough President and there are no material changes to the terms described in the notice, the agency shall not be required to issue a second notice when issuing or reissuing the Request for Proposals within a 12-month period.
(3) At least 40 days prior to soliciting proposals for a significant concession, or less, at the discretion of CCPO, the agency shall consult with each affected Community Board and Borough President on developing the scope of the RFP, provided however, that inclusion of the concession in the agency's Plan and consultations pursuant to 12 RCNY § 1-10 shall constitute consultations with the affected community board and Borough President for purposes of this requirement.
(i) If an agency provides the aforementioned notice to the affected community board and Borough President and there are no material changes to the terms described in the notice, the agency shall not be required to issue a second notice when issuing or reissuing the Request for Proposals within a 12-month period.
(b) Preparation of the request for proposals. At least 6 months prior to the expiration date of any concession and/or prior to the anticipated start date of a new concession, the agency shall initiate action for the selection of a concessionaire. The agency action(s) taken shall include the preparation of a Request for Proposals containing a detailed description of the concession under consideration for resolicitation or initial award. The RFP should describe as explicitly as possible the requirements of the agency. The RFP should include all documents (whether attached or incorporated by reference) furnished prospective proposers for the purpose of submitting a proposal. The following information, together with any other appropriate information, should be included in the Request for Proposals, as applicable:
(1) Instructions and information to proposers concerning the proposal submission requirements, including the time and date set for receipt of the proposals; requirements for the electronic submission of proposals, if any; time, date, and location of any pre-proposal conferences (and a statement whether such conferences are mandatory), and an invitation to inspect the premises, as applicable; and the address where proposals are to be delivered;
(2) Location, and a brief description of the proposed concession, its size, its prior use and/or other possible usage of the premises, any fixtures, or equipment, on the premises and its surrounding area, including any special instructions or information necessary, and appropriate materials such as maps, plans or photographs;
(3) The term of the concession and any terms and conditions upon its award, including warranty and bonding or other security requirements, amount of proposed capital investment and a description of any legal restrictions on the use of the location;
(4) The evaluation criteria that will be applied to the evaluation of all proposals, their relative importance and/or assigned weight (as applicable) and descriptions of minimum qualification requirements and of the Selection Committee (See 12 RCNY § 1-13(o)(6));
(5) A provision that proposers should give specific attention to the identification of those portions of their proposals that they deem to be confidential proprietary information or trade secrets and provide any justification why such materials, upon request, should not be disclosed by the City. Such information must be easily separable from the non-confidential sections of the proposal;
(6) A notice that although discussions may be conducted with offerors submitting acceptable proposals, award may be made without any discussions;
(7) A notice of the proposer's rights to appeal certain decisions as specified in these rules;
(8) A statement that proposers should contact the agency prior to submission of proposals to verify that all amendments issued have been received, and a requirement for acknowledgment of amendments;
(9) A notice that the concession award is subject to applicable provisions of federal, state, and local laws and executive orders requiring affirmative action and equal employment opportunity;
(10) Where applicable, a notice that concession award is subject to completion of PASSPort questionnaires and review of that information by the Department of Investigation;
(11) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of a contact person to whom questions and correspondence relating to the RFP can be addressed;
(12) Instructions for submission of proposals, including a requirement that the proposer include the solicitation number, the name and address of the proposer and the time for receipt of proposals on the outside wrapper; and
(13) The following statement:
The New York City Comptroller is charged with the audit of concession agreements in New York City. Any person or entity who believes that there has been unfairness, favoritism or impropriety in the proposal process should inform the Comptroller, Office of Contract Administration, 1 Centre Street, New York, New York 10007, telephone number (212) 669-2323.
(14) Where applicable, for concessions that entail construction, the following information shall be additionally included:
(A) A statement establishing minimum insurance requirements which the City will require of the proposer if successful; and
(B) A statement that the proposer will be required to meet all licensing or permit requirements required to perform the construction.
(c) Publicizing the request for proposals.
(1) Requests for proposals for concessions shall be solicited by public advertisement in at least 1 issue of the City Record. The text of such RFP shall be posted on the City's website in a location that is accessible by the public simultaneously with its publication. A copy of such RFP shall be sent to the members of the Committee and each affected Community Board within 5 days of the first publication of the RFP. Consideration shall also be given to soliciting proposals by public advertisement in appropriate newspapers and trade publications, posting notices in public places, contacting other City agencies that have concessions, free radio or television coverage, website or social media postings, and such other means as may be appropriate. The steps taken to solicit proposals shall be documented by the concession manager and included in the concession file.
(2) Advertisements to solicit proposals shall include the following information:
(i) The place a paper copy of the RFP may be obtained and the amount of any required fee or deposit,
(ii) The anticipated proposer submission deadline, time and location for proposal submission;
(iii) A brief description of the concession under consideration for renewal or initial award;
(iv) The time, date and location of any pre-proposal conference or site visit, if any, and if attendance is mandatory; and
(v) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the agency contact person.
(3) A response time of at least30 days between the advertisement's first appearance in the City Record and the proposal submission deadline shall be provided, unless the concession manager makes a written determination that a shorter period is reasonable. A copy of such determination must be included in the concession file.
(4) Agencies shall provide for special outreach to minority and women owned business enterprises certified by the City of New York as such entities are defined in Section 1304 of the Charter. Special outreach can include but is not limited to; providing notice in newspapers, trade publications, websites or social media that are dedicated to minority and/or women owner business enterprises or trade groups. Agencies may additionally employ any outreach technique sanctioned by DSBS that is not otherwise in violation of these Rules.
(d) Solicitation mailing lists. Concession managers shall establish, maintain, and use lists of potential sources in accordance with 12 RCNY § 1-12(c).
(e) Pre-proposal conferences may be held in accordance with the procedures set forth in 12 RCNY § 1-12(d).
(f) Amendments and addenda to the RFP may be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in 12 RCNY § 1-12(e).
(g) Proposal deposits. Proposal deposits may be required in accordance with the procedures set forth in 12 RCNY § 1-12(f).
(h) Receipt of proposals.
(1) Concession managers shall establish procedures for receipt and safeguarding of proposals in accordance with those specified for bids in 12 RCNY § 1-12(h) and (i). Proposals shall be time and date stamped upon receipt.
(2) Proposers are responsible for submitting proposals so as to reach the agency office designated in the solicitation on time. Unless the solicitation states a specific time, the time for receipt is 4:30 p.m. local time for the designated agency office on the date that proposals are due. Each proposal shall show the time for receipt, the solicitation number and the name and address of the proposer on the outside wrapper.
(i) Opening of proposals. Proposals may only be opened after the proposal submission deadline. All proposals received by the submission deadline, including letters of declination, are to be opened under the supervision of the responsible official and in the presence of at least one appropriate agency witness. The responsible official must then complete a Proposal Receipt Register. Once opened, proposals should be made available only to those City personnel or consultants acting on behalf of the City who have a direct role in the award of the RFP. The Proposal Receipt Register shall be available for public inspection after the concession has been granted and shall be included in the concession file.
(j) Late proposals and modifications.
(1) It is the responsibility of a proposer to submit its proposal prior to the submission deadline to the designated agency location. Proposals and modifications received after that exact time are defined as "late". Late proposals and modifications must be acknowledged, and time stamped upon receipt and, except under the specific circumstances described below, may not be evaluated.
(2) (i) A late proposal, received before proposals have been opened, may only be accepted and evaluated when the concession manager determines that it is in the best interests of the City to do so. In such event, the concession manager may hold open the receipt of proposals by no more than 3 hours during which time no other competing proposal may be opened. Where a concession manager has determined that it is in the best interests of the City to accept a late proposal, any other late proposal received during the period of extension shall be similarly accepted.
(ii) If, based on the above, a late proposal or modification is accepted and evaluated, the concession manager must document the circumstances in writing and maintain such documentation as part of the concession file. If a late proposal or modification is not evaluated, such proposal or modification shall be promptly returned to the proposer unopened and the proposer shall be notified of the reason for such action.
(k) Withdrawal of proposals.
(1) Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received at the designated agency location before the time set for proposal opening.
(i) If a proposal is withdrawn in accordance with 12 RCNY § 1-13(k)(1), the proposal security, if any, shall be returned to the proposer.
(2) After proposal opening, a proposer may not withdraw its proposal before the expiration of 45 calendar days after the date of the opening of proposals or such longer period as determined by the concession manager and set forth in the solicitation and only in writing and in advance of an actual grant of a concession.
(3) The concession manager shall document each request for withdrawal and prepare a written determination, with supporting facts, as to whether or not the proposal was permitted to be withdrawn. Such determinations shall be included in the concession file with a copy thereof forwarded to the proposer.
(l) Mistake in proposal. Allegations of mistakes in proposals shall be processed by the concession manager according to 9 RCNY § 3-03(i) of the PPB Rules. A written determination shall be made and shall be included in the concession file.
(m) Single responses to the RFP. When a single proposal has been received in response to an RFP, an award may be recommended only after it has been documented by the concession manager, that a sufficient number of other entities had a reasonable opportunity to respond; why, as a result of inquiries made by the agency, representative firms chose not to submit proposals; that the proposal submitted meets minimum requirements for award; and that a resolicitation would not be in the City's best interest. If the above specified circumstances cannot be documented, the single proposal must be rejected and the concession may either be pursued, subject to the approval of the concession manager, by the solicitation of new proposals or the concession canceled. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a single proposal has been received in response to an RFP for a concession, other than a significant concession, the agency shall not be required to make inquiries as to why representative firms chose not to submit proposals.
(n) Proposal retention. The agency must retain all submitted proposals and modifications in the permanent concession file. Although the Selection Committee may consider only the latest version of a proposal, the retention of these documents will serve as a reference for responses to future inquiries. When a proposal is rejected or a solicitation canceled after proposals are received, the proposals shall be retained and the proposal deposit, if any, shall be promptly returned, and the file so documented.
(o) Evaluation process.
(1) The RFP must set forth the factors or criteria the agency will use in evaluating proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation and award of the concession except those specified in the RFP.
(2) Prior to the release of the RFP, the Agency awarding the concession shall determine the evaluation criteria that will be applied to the evaluation of all proposals, their relative importance or assigned weight, the minimum qualification requirements and the composition of the Selection Committee (See 12 RCNY § 1-13(b)(4) and (o)(6)). Compensation to the City shall be considered in every concession selection. Evaluation criteria that may apply to particular concessions include, but are not limited to, revenue, other (non-cash) compensation to the City, technical excellence, experience, and qualifications.
(3) Minimum qualification requirements. The Agency may establish, as minimum qualification requirements, objective standards that all proposers must meet in order to be considered for award. Minimum qualification requirements may neither be waived nor supplemented after proposals have been opened. A proposer's failure to satisfy a minimum qualification requirement shall render the proposal non-responsive, in accordance with 12 RCNY § 1-06.
(4) The concession manager shall document the evaluation criteria, their relative importance and/or assigned weight (as applicable) and all other determinations concerning the evaluation process in the concession file.
(5) Rating sheet. Rating sheets or other written evaluation forms shall be used to evaluate proposals and shall be signed and dated by all members of the evaluation committee. Initial ratings may be amended and the amended ratings recorded on either the original or amended ratings sheets. Copies of all initial and amended rating sheets or evaluation forms shall be maintained.
(6) Selection Committee.
(i) The Selection Committee is responsible for evaluating proposals based on the established criteria and recommending a proposal based on the best combination of quality, compensation to the City and the other criteria enumerated in the RFP. The Selection Committee should include appropriately experienced personnel to ensure that all components of the RFP will be evaluated. Selection Committees must be comprised of a minimum of 3 members, at least one of whom must neither supervise, nor directly report to any other member of the Selection Committee in the normal course of agency business. Personnel who were involved in developing the RFP specifications may be part of the Selection Committee. Members of the Selection Committee must be free from bias or a potential or actual conflict of interest and each member will be required to sign the following affidavit to this effect when completing the rating sheet:
Evaluator Affidavit (Check one and sign)
To the best of my knowledge, information and belief, neither I nor any member of my immediate family is, has ever been, or has current plans to be a sole proprietor, director, officer, stockholder, partner or employee of or has, ever had, or has current plans to have a fiduciary relationship with any of the proposers responding to this RFP, nor have I ever discussed employment upon conclusion of my City service with any such proposers, nor has my evaluation been in any way impacted by interactions or relationships with a concessionaire, current or prospective, operating the concession which is being evaluated.
___ I attest that the above statement is true.
___ I cannot attest to the above statement, for the reasons set forth in the attached statement.
(ii) All proposals received prior to the submission deadline must be evaluated by the Selection Committee. Only in the case when an agency prescribed minimum qualification requirements may the Selection Committee designate the concession manager to screen proposals to ensure that each has met all such requirements. The concession manager shall document the process used to screen proposals against minimum qualification requirements in the concession file. The documentation shall list all proposals that failed to meet the minimum qualification requirements with reasons to justify this determination. The concession manager shall make such determination in accordance with 12 RCNY § 1-06.
(iii) Members of the Selection Committee shall independently read and evaluate each proposal and record their evaluations in the form of ratings on the individual rating sheet prepared with the RFP. The only criteria that may be used by the Selection Committee members in their evaluation are those specified in the RFP. All Selection Committee members must sign and date their initial individual rating sheets. The concession manager shall compile the individual ratings of the members of the Selection Committee, in accordance with the criteria specified in the RFP. Upon completion of the initial independent evaluations the Selection Committee may meet to review and discuss the ratings. After such discussions, Selection Committee members may wish to change a rating to reflect new or previously misunderstood information or a change of opinion. Rating sheets may be amended as a result of such Selection Committee discussions. All Selection Committee members must sign and date their individual rating sheets each time they are amended. When such changes are made, however, all original rating sheets or electronic copies must be retained intact and attached to the revised version or an electronic copy thereof, along with an explanation, in writing, for each change that was made.
(iv) (A) Following the Selection Committee's initial discussions, if any, of the individual ratings and any amended ratings that may result therefrom, the Selection Committee may: determine that award should be made on the basis of initial proposals; determine that it is not in the best interests of the City to award solely on the basis of initial proposals, and that best and final offers should be solicited and/or discussions or negotiations should be initiated with all responsive proposers or with a selected group of proposers; or may determine that it is in the best interest of the City to not make an award and to either cancel or resolicit the RFP. In the latter case, such determination must be in writing, approved by the Agency Head and included in the concession file. All proposers should be notified of such action.
(B) If the Selection Committee decides that best and final offers should be solicited and/or discussions or negotiations should be initiated, it may limit such process to those proposers whose proposals are acceptable or are reasonably likely to be made acceptable for the purpose of promoting understanding of the City's requirements and the proposals and/or the proposers' capabilities; obtaining the best compensation proposal for the City; and arriving at a concession that will be most advantageous to the City taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP.
((a)) Proposers shall be accorded fair treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussions and revisions of proposals. Proposers not selected for best and final offers, discussions or negotiations should be notified.
((b)) The Selection Committee shall establish an agenda and schedule for conducting discussions, if any. Any oral clarification of a proposal shall be confirmed in writing by the proposer.
((c)) The Selection Committee may also request best and final offers from proposers prior to, following or in lieu of discussions with individual proposers. The concession manager shall establish a common date and time or timeframe for the submission of best and final offers. The Selection Committee may request best and final offers on the whole proposal or on any one or combination of its component parts (e.g., revenue, technical qualifications, approach, and/or capability). The request shall be the same for all proposers included in the best and final offer process. Best and final offers shall be submitted only once unless the concession manager makes a determination that it is in the City's best interest to conduct additional discussions and/or require another submission of best and final offers, which may be limited to those proposers deemed by the Selection Committee to have a reasonable chance of obtaining the concession award. Proposers shall be informed that if they do not submit a notice of withdrawal or another best and final offer, their immediate previous offer will be construed as their best and final offer.
((d)) Once discussions are commenced with any proposer or after best and final offers are requested, such proposer may correct any mistake in its proposal by modifying or withdrawing the proposal until the time and date set for receipt of best and final offers.
((e)) Following discussions and/or best and final offers, if any, the Selection Committee may elect to enter into negotiations for a concession award with one or more of the highest rated proposers. Auction techniques (revealing one proposer's revenue proposal to another) and disclosure of any information derived from competing proposals are prohibited. The concession manager shall document the process of best and final offers, discussions and negotiations in the concession file.
((f)) With respect to competitive sealed proposal awards where the concession has a value that when aggregated with the value of all other City concessions, franchises and contracts held by the same concessionaire is valued at $100,000 or more, at any point during the process of best and final offers, discussions or negotiations, the concession manager may require those proposers deemed by the Selection Committee to have a reasonable chance of obtaining the concession award to complete PASSPort questionnaires.
((g)) Decisions to solicit, limit, or not solicit best and final offers or negotiate further with any proposers or any selected group of proposers should be documented, signed and dated by the members of the Selection Committee, and maintained in the concession file.
(C) When an agency determines that there is a need for minor modifications in its requirements during the process of conducting best and final offers, discussions or negotiations, those modifications must be communicated in writing to all of the proposers included in such process. If changes in the requirements are so extensive that they warrant complete revision of a solicitation, the concession manager shall cancel the RFP and issue a new one. In making the determination whether to cancel an RFP based on changes in requirements, the concession manager shall consider whether the changes are such that new proposers, as a result of those revisions, might now be interested in satisfying the requirements of the changed RFP.
(p) The final recommendation.
(1) The Selection Committee's final recommendation must be consistent with the RFP specifications and the evaluation criteria. If any Selection Committee member feels that there are procedural or substantive issues which prevent support of the recommendation, this person must be given an opportunity to document that disagreement and include it with the evaluation rating sheets.
(2) Once the Selection Committee has made its recommendation, the chairperson must document the recommendation in a report to be submitted to the concession manager. This report must identify the RFP being considered, the number of proposals received, whether the planned evaluation process and schedule for award was followed and the reasons for deviations, if any, and the proposal recommended. It must include all best and final proposals, the basis for the recommendation, all original rating sheets, all amended rating sheets, any other relevant evaluation material used by the Selection Committee, the recommendation of each of the members, their names and titles, and the signature of the chairperson. If any Selection Committee member prepared a document outlining a disagreement with the recommendation, it must be attached to the report. The concession manager shall file the report in the concession file folder.
(3) Once the concession manager receives the final recommendation from the Selection Committee, together with any documentation from any individual member of the Selection Committee who disagrees with such final recommendation, the concession manager shall proceed to determine responsibility of the prospective concessionaire, in accordance with the procedures set forth in 12 RCNY § 1-07.
(4) If PASSPort questionnaires have not previously been requested from proposers, the concession manager shall require the highest rated proposer to complete such questionnaires. The Department of Investigation shall review the names on the questionnaires to ascertain whether the business or its affiliated individuals are or have been the subject of an investigation by the Department, in accordance with 12 RCNY § 1-07(e)(1)(iii).
(5) Once the concession manager receives the final recommendation from the Selection Committee, and the recommended proposer has been determined responsible, they should provide written or electronic notice of non-selection, to any proposers asked to provide best and final offers or otherwise selected for final negotiations, which should be provided within 5 days.
(q) Public hearings on significant concession awards.
(1) Prior to an Agency granting any significant concession to be awarded by competitive sealed proposals, the Committee and the Agency shall jointly hold a public hearing on the terms and conditions of each proposed significant concession agreement. Any such public hearing shall be held within 30 days of the filing with the Committee by the Agency of a proposed concession agreement containing the terms and conditions of the proposed concession agreement. A record of comments received at the hearing shall be maintained in the concession file. A notice of each such public hearing, containing a summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed concession and stating the time, date and location of the public hearing, instructions on how the public may submit written testimony prior to the hearing, shall be published once in the City Record not less than 15 days prior to the hearing date or a shorter period approved by the CCPO, and shall be given to each affected Community Board, each affected Borough President, and the members of the Committee not less than 15 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
(2) For concessions where the total value of the compensation to the City will not exceed one million dollars, such notice may include a provision that if the agency does not receive, within 10 days after publication of such notice, from any individual a written request to speak at such hearing or a request from a member of the Committee for the agency to appear at such hearing, then such hearing need not be conducted. Should the decision be made not to hold such hearing, the agency shall publish a notice in the City Record canceling such hearing, and shall send a copy of such notice to all members of the Committee.
(r) Award and processing.
(1) The concession manager must ensure that the recommended proposal does not vary substantially from the RFP and that the resulting concession agreement will be consistent with the winning proposal. Upon approval by Agency Head, the concession manager may proceed to process the concession agreement.
(2) An agency must obtain the prior approval of the Committee if the Agency Head wishes to deviate from the final recommendation of the Selection Committee. Requests for such approval shall be forwarded to the Committee and shall include a detailed statement, signed by the Agency Head, setting forth the reasons for the request together with all other relevant information. If the Committee approves the request the Agency Head may award the concession as authorized by the Committee.
(s) Accessibility.
(1) Agencies must provide prospective concessionaires with an opportunity to request and receive reasonable accommodations on the basis of disability to participate in the concession solicitation process described by these rules.
(Amended City Record 10/29/2025, eff. 11/28/2025)
